[PHNUTR-L] Mineral deficiency in food must be tackled, says expert

[Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD]

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Mineral deficiency in food must be tackled, says expert
http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/ng.asp?n=65716&m=1fne209&c=xeiqgoegavfxtla

09/02/2006- An innovative mineral supplement could help food makers 
overcome the poor nutritional value of food that is currently 
undermining consumer health, claims a nutrition expert.

Dr David Thomas, a primary healthcare practitioner and independent 
researcher who recently made a comparison of government nutritional 
tables published in 1940, and again in 2002, argues that the gradual 
degradation of the micronutrient value of food must be tackled by 
industry, consumers and regulators.

"We seem to be responding in a symptomatic matter without understanding 
the problem in the first place," Dr David Thomas, a primary healthcare 
practitioner and independent researcher told FoodNavigator.

"It seems to me we dont need to be so sophisticated we just need to step 
back and look at the reasons why we are unhealthy. Usually it's the 
bodys response to environmental stresses. We need a common sense approach."

He believes that the food industry has a vital role in reversing this trend.

"I work with supplements. But a while ago, it occurred to me that 
functional food ingredients would be a much better way of bridging this 
gap between a recognition of the need to consume micronutrients and the 
lack of these in everyday food."

Thomas argues that food manufacturers need to promote not just good 
looking, wonderful tasting and great smelling food, but also 
nutrient-rich food.

"This is the way forward," he said. "From an economic point view, food 
makers are selling added value products, and ultimately improving the 
health of consumers."

Thomas has a commercial interest in this. He is the European distributor 
for ConcenTrace, a mineral supplement developed from the Great Salt 
Lakes in the US. The company behind the product, Trace Minerals 
Research, says that it uses a natural process to remove the sodium to 
leave a formula about 26 times more concentrated than other liquid trace 
minerals on the market.

"When I was working in Africa, I was surprised to see evaporated 
seawater being used as medicine," he said. "Later I came across a 
similar product from the salt lakes that had been evaporated to remove 
sodium chloride crystals, to leave a kind of soup that contained trace 
elements of magnesium, selenium, boron and lithium.

"All these have roles in physiology. Magnesium is vital for example in 
the Krebs Cycle.

"This is basically what ConcenTrace is. I see huge potential for this 
product in the functional food sector. Were just at the beginnings of 
it. But I can see possibilities for its use in smoothies, energy bars, 
its an ideal product."

Minerals and trace minerals are the catalysts for all the vitamins and 
other nutrients your body uses for developing and maintaining good 
health. The minerals contained in ConcenTrace are ionic, which means 
that they are readily assimilated into the body.

And because it is salt-based, it has a flavouring aspect.

Thomas says that the poor nutritional value of food is an issue that 
must be tackled. His recent conclusions on the micronutrient value of 
food, which were published by the Food Commission this month, certainly 
make for alarming reading.

For example, the iron content in 15 different varieties of meat had 
decreased on average by 47 per cent, with some products showing a fall 
as high as 80 per cent, while the iron content of milk had dropped by 
over 60 per cent.

Copper and magnesium, essential for enzyme functioning, also showed 
losses in meat products. Magnesium levels have typically fallen by 10 
per cent while copper levels have fallen by 60 per cent.

But things are slowly getting better. "There are also more and more 
functional drinks," said Thomas. "Silver Spring for example has just 
launched an omega 3 drink. There is quite a lot of innovation this 
niche, value added market is increasingly becoming the norm."

Ultimately says Thomas, education is the key, both children and parents.

"Little by little, as they say. What my background in geology taught me 
is that everything is an evolutionary process. There isn't always a way 
of forcing things."
-- 
Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD < fivestar at nutritionucanlivewith.com >
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